France-based Easy Web develops 3D video projection systems for 'monumental architecture', but could they be developing new cultural expectations for human-city interfaces where everything becomes a template?

Broadly popular virtual worlds are a relatively recent
phenomenon, and yet have taken the real world by storm. It
was just 2003 when Second Life opened its doors to the
public – it has now grown to 13,018,921 residents (as of today)
with millions of Linden dollars being
exchanged every month.

Virtual worlds evolved from basic online communities and
chatrooms. From these roots sprouted Multi-User Dungeons (MUDs)
and Multi-User Shared Habitats
(MUSHes), like the first 3D shooter game Maze
War. Inspired by UK-born MUDs of the
late 1970s like AberMUD, the first
Internet-based MUD, early virtual worlds
of the 1990s were solely text-based with limited graphics and often
used a Terminal
Interface. The launch of
CyberTown in 1995, the immediate success of The Sims Online in 2002, and the
growing success of Second Life sewed the seeds for a market that
has recently begun to skyrocket. Due also in part to the steady
popularization of MMORPGs, it didn’t
take long for the rest of the world to catch on to the potential of
such virtual environments. With virtual worlds popping up
everywhere, the roster now includes World of Warcraft,
Multiverse, There.com, MetaPlace, Club Penguin and many
more.

This year’s Virtual Worlds Conference in
New York City promises to be a playground for those interested in
the Metaverse. The two day
conference agenda covers the business, operations and legal issues
for companies seeking to monetize their intellectual property with
virtual worlds.

On the heels of Singapore’s
announcement that it plans to throw some serious money at the
development of mixed-reality applications the slower U.S. House
Committee on Energy and Commerce has scheduled a hearing
on the issues surrounding virtual worlds.

The session, titled Online Virtual Worlds: Applications and
Avatars in a User-Generated Medium, will be held April 1 at 9:30
a.m. and
live webcast streamed for those who wish to view the
proceedings from home (or at work). It seems likely that the
potential economic value, catalytic effects and security
ramifications of user populated virtual worlds will be discussed.
No doubt this is just the beginning of broader federal recognition
of the power of this rapidly diffusing new medium.

I will be eager to see what transpires and then to discuss the
ramifications here and with all of the virtual world officionados
converging at Virtual Worlds 2008 next
week.

Sick of using an obscure set of keyboard strokes to control your
avatar? Have no fear, the 3D camera / semi-haptic interface for
Second Life
has arrived.

Developed by Mitch Kapor,
technology investor and Chair of Linden Lab, and Phillipe Bossut, the
new
interface allows you to use your actual body, much like on
Kamen’s Segway, to move your avatar through
virtual space. Simply lean forward to move forward, lift your hands
to elevate and fly, place your hands behind your back while
descending for a graceful landing.

Check out this demo to see the new interface in action:

Clearly these are just the very first steps for this novel
interface that promises to make avatar navigation more intuitive,
opening the door to non-technical people of all demographics,
lowering the complexity barrier to virtual worlds adoption (much
like the Nintendo
Wii controller). (cont.)

On January 29 at 6pm, Carnegie Council Senior Fellows Joshua S. Fouts and Rita J. King will present findings from their Understanding Islam Through Virtual Worlds project. After a year of exploring digital Islamic communities, Fouts and King conclude that engaging with people in virtual worlds who self-identify as Muslim can be part of a broader public diplomacy strategy to foster inclusive perspectives on religion, society, and coexistence.

How can virtual worlds serve as new windows of insight into real life social dynamics?